Ayurvedic Spice Mills
During my stay in India I struck up a conversation with a cook who only spoke a few English words. Excited to learn more about Indian cooking and the science behind the spices they use, I was discouraged to only understand the Hindi words 'garam' and 'tenda', hot and cold. When I asked if he would show me how he makes 'masala chai', spiced tea, he conveyed to me that the spices in 'masala chai' were hot spices and were not suited to the blistering temperatures we were experiencing. This notion of spices having cooling and heating properties prompted me to investigate further.
In the ancient practice of Ayurveda, spices are believed to keep various elements in the body balanced and are valued for their medicinal properties. Ayurveda works with gentle opposites, so my experience of not drinking spiced tea in the heat of the Indian summer makes sense.
I created five sets of spice mills, one mill designated to heating spices and the other to cooling spices. The designs of these spice mills illustrate the connected and balancing relationship these two groups of spices share.
During my stay in India I struck up a conversation with a cook who only spoke a few English words. Excited to learn more about Indian cooking and the science behind the spices they use, I was discouraged to only understand the Hindi words 'garam' and 'tenda', hot and cold. When I asked if he would show me how he makes 'masala chai', spiced tea, he conveyed to me that the spices in 'masala chai' were hot spices and were not suited to the blistering temperatures we were experiencing. This notion of spices having cooling and heating properties prompted me to investigate further.
In the ancient practice of Ayurveda, spices are believed to keep various elements in the body balanced and are valued for their medicinal properties. Ayurveda works with gentle opposites, so my experience of not drinking spiced tea in the heat of the Indian summer makes sense.
I created five sets of spice mills, one mill designated to heating spices and the other to cooling spices. The designs of these spice mills illustrate the connected and balancing relationship these two groups of spices share.
Ayurevedic Spice Mills IV
Mill Set | 2010
Purpleheart, yellowheart, nogal, veneer, silver-plated copper, ceramic grinding mechanism
Purpleheart, yellowheart, nogal, veneer, silver-plated copper, ceramic grinding mechanism
18.5 x 10 cm each
Ayurvedic Spice Mills V
Mills Set | 2010
Walnut, maple, muiracatiara, veneer, copper, ceramic grinding mechanism
18.5 x 9.5 cm each
Ayurvedic Spice Mills III
Mill Set | 2010
Spalted maple, patinated copper, ceramic grinding mechanism
16.5 x 9 cm each
Ayurvedic Spice Mills II
Mill Set | 2010
Bloodwood, nogal, muiracatiara, patinated copper, ceramic grinding mechanism
Bloodwood, nogal, muiracatiara, patinated copper, ceramic grinding mechanism
24 x 9 cm each
Ayurvedic Spice Mills I
Mill Set | 2010
Purpleheart, yellowheart, bocote, patinated copper, ceramic grinding mechanism
Purpleheart, yellowheart, bocote, patinated copper, ceramic grinding mechanism
20.5 x 9.5 cm each
